Catharsis – Our being took form in defiance [Solemne Records]

Earlier this year 2023, Catharsis released their debut full-length with Terrifying Shadows, and by accident, we at Industrial Complexx revealed that the man behind the project was the UK’s Steve Loss, also known as Voidloss, Dirty Bass and Heretic. So it is not surprising that the sound of Catharsis is at an important level of quality, and that the artist continues to be faithful to the industrial style of this project.

To date, all Catharsis releases have been released on Zhark Recordings, the legendary label founded by Hecate and Kareem in the mid-90s, however, this new album is housed on the catalogue of the Polish label Solemne Records, which we have talked about on several occasions.

Our being took form in defiance opens with The Offering of the Body, a track in which the artist demonstrates how significant the rhythmic patterns are in this project, as it is a kind of tribal break with a fast cadence that prevails over the rest of the sonic elements. A Ritual for Cracking the Sky follows a similar pattern to the rest of the tracks on this album, as it gives maximum prominence to the rhythmic composition, although, as the title of this track states, and although its destination is much closer to the dancefloor than the previous track, it has a ceremonial character. A wailing ritual to end the pain follows a similar ritualistic tone of the second cut, however, the vocals and pads create an equal environment between the different sound lines. Slave to Dogma is a different argument, from the forceful and agile musical character, to the etymological sense of the track itself.

Arches of Bewilderment is another return to industrial tribalism perfectly brought to Catharsis’ sonic terrain. With Beyond the cavern of souls, Catharsis adds a hesitant groove to turn it into a kind of corporeal expression or dance of good vibes. Enter Chod delves into other aspects besides the rhythmic, this time adding harmonic components to a forceful percussive structure, starting first as sonic backgrounds and then expanding with haunting arpeggios. Lightning to Stone follows a line quite in line with the previous track in that the artist offsets the sonic roughness of the rhythm with various melodies that also accompany a sweet female voice. Damned closes the album again as a kind of shamanic tribal dance, in which the vocals from beyond the grave are interchanged with hypnotic harmonies.

Release date: December 4th, 2023.